UNITED
NATIONS,
September 3 --
Days after the
UK House of
Commons voted
down
Prime Minister
David
Cameron's
proposal for
military
action on
Syria,
Cameron's
foreign
minister
William Hague
and his team
took questions
in the House.

Hague
shifted the
UK's focus to
plight of
refugees; his
team talked
about
the UN
monetary
appeal. But
before last
week's voting
loss, the UK
government was
arguing for
military
action without
UN Security
Council
approval. What
is their
position on
the UN?

From
the floor,
Hague was
asked that
since he
tweeted about
his telephone
call with US
Secretary of
State John
Kerry, had he
spoken with
Russia's
minister
Lavrov? Hague
said he last
spoke with
Lavrov last
Wednesday --
that is,
before the
voting loss in
the House of
Commons.

As
is noted of
the UN on
Syria, this
could be
called the
UK's own Race
for Relevance.
Continued
connection to
the former
empire is
important
- more
important than
human rights,
apparently.

On
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo, the
UK government
played up its
involvement:
speaking with
UN envoy Mary
Robinson on
August 27 and
Rwanda's
foreign
minister
Louise
Mushikiwabo
since, citing
talks
called for in
Kampala on
September 5.

There
was a wee bit
of racism,
too, in the
House of
Commons
session. On
Gibraltar it
was suggested
that the
Spanish
ambassador to
the UK be
told to "pack
up his
sombrero,
straw donkey
and sangria"
and leave.
Hague joked
about the
question that
this might be
done in
more
diplomatic
language. Muy
comico.
Watch this
site.

Footnote:
Also on Gibraltar,
Hague was
asked why he
doesn't push
Spain to give
Ceuta to
Morocco. Hague
said he'd
focus on the
issue at hand
- Gibraltar -
but others could
make that
connection.
But at the UN,
the UK disdains
any comparison
of its
positions on
self-determination
in the Malvinas
/ Falkland
Islands and in,
say, Somaliland.
But others can
and will make
that
connection?